The beast was unleashed at Yarrow Stadium last night - but unfortunately for Otago, it was in the form of the Auckland Aces' left armer Mitchell McClenaghan.
The former Black Caps seamer was one angry fast bowler by the time he came on to bowl in the seventh over of the Otago Volts' bid to chase down 167 to win the national twenty20 title.
He stopped the Volts in their tracks with three wickets in his first over to lead the Aces to a 20-run win.
The Volts had made an excellent fist of the chase up to that point, racking up 50 runs at more than eight runs an over through Hamish Rutherford (20) and Anaru Kitchen (29).
McClenaghan immediately put the brakes on the Volts' run-chase when he arrived at the bowling crease, nabbing Rutherford, then striking the very next ball when he cleaned up Kitchen.
His destruction of Otago's top-order was complete two balls later when he induced an edge from Neil Broom, which was snaffled by Jeet Raval at second slip.
From there it was tough going for Otago. James Neesham (21) found the spinners more to his liking than Bracewell (9) as the Volts added just 23 in five overs.
Nathan McCullum was at his busiest best, despite an injured knee, but he was not given enough support in the latter stages. McCullum's brave 21-ball stay ended on 35 courtesy of an outstanding diving catch by Colin de Grandhomme at long off, and that was all she wrote, as Otago finished its 20 overs on 146 for nine.
The Aces' innings of 166 was anchored by skipper Rob Nicol, who battled through cramp in his left leg to score 77 off 54 balls.
He peppered the boundaries on both sides of the wicket, and managed to deposit a ball from his opposite, McCullum, on to the grandstand roof to bring up his 50.
He smacked Bradley Scott for 12 runs in three balls in the 19th over, but Scott had the last say, taking a super catch off his own bowling to get rid of Nicol.
O'Donnell made Otago's task just a little harder, smacking 19 off 10 to help the Aces through to 166.
Barnes took the first three wickets to fall, and ended up with three for 32 from his four overs, mixing sharp pace with good off-speed variations.
McCullum's arrival at the bowling crease may have been delayed after he landed badly on his left knee attempting a difficult catch, but he still managed one for 20 from his three overs.
A second-innings washout on Friday had put Otago through to the final ahead of the Auckland Aces due to the Volts' superior record and the weather also affected the elimination final between the Aces and the Canterbury Kings on Saturday, with Auckland finishing two runs ahead on the Duckworth Lewis method when rain interrupted its run chase.
